State wrestling: IV's Sims strikes silver

He came for the gold, but left with the silver — not a bad consolation prize.

Garet Sims finished second in the Class 1A 182-pound division of the state wrestling tournament Saturday, Feb. 17, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines to cap a sensational season in which the Iowa Valley junior won conference, sectional and district titles en route to a lofty 55-2 record.

Sims’ goal was to win it all, and he came close, oh so close, dropping a 2-0 decision in the finals to Martensdale-Saint Marys undefeated Logan Schumacher (52-0).

A takedown midway through the second period was the only scoring in the title match. Sims was close to escaping several his predicament times but Schumacher thwarted each attempt and controlled Sims much of the final period and rode him out for the victory.

“Garet was on a mission and just came up a little short against a tough kid,” said Iowa Valley coach Jeremy Kriegel. “He has always been willing to put the work in that is needed to get to the level he is at, and I have no doubt the heartache he felt to end this season will drive him even more to get to the top of podium as a state champion next year.”

Sims is now 152-19 for his career, which has included three trips to the state tournament and progressively higher finishes each year. He was 46-11 as a freshman, a year he didn’t make the medals stand; and 51-6 as a sophomore, when he finished fifth.

Sims was the top finisher among all area wrestlers in last week's tournament, as several others secured their medals at the end of the consolation finals earlier in the day Saturday, Feb. 17.

Leading the way was Williamsburg 113-pound senior Grayson Kesterson, who – a year after winning a state championship – ended his Raider career with a third-place finish in Class 2A. Beaten in the semifinals by ADM’s Andrew Flora in a tight 4-3 matchup Friday night, Kesterson bounced back in style, winning his second match of the week over Mount Vernon’s Ryan Clark, this time by a 5-0 score.

Kesterson secured the bronze with a 10-2 major decision win over Monticello’s Kain Luensman. He ends his final year as a Raider 49-3.

Jalen Schropp finished fifth at 126, while Cavin Malloy finished his comeback bid with a sixth-place medal. Schropp won his final match of the year with a 3-0 win over Atlantic-CAM’s Kole Hanson, while Malloy – who battled back from a first-round loss to win three straight – was pinned in his final match by Osage’s Zach Williams. Schropp finished his sophomore year 51-4, while Malloy – also a senior who wrestled his last high school match – ended 41-10.

Grinnell’s Brock Beck ended the week with a sixth-place finish at 113 in Class 2A, falling to Clark in a 6-4 match. Beck is a sophomore who ended 46-8.

Iowa Valley had the only other placewinner, coming in Class 1A as Ben Smith finished with a 6-3 loss to Ethan Elliot of Interstate 35 of Truro to end up in eighth place. Smith wrapped up his sophomore campaign 55-9 and a spot in the school’s 100-win club.